Torpedo-placer



(No Model.)

0. P. EDGAR. TORPEDO PLACER.

No. 487,917. Patented Dec; 13, 1892.

amzwzfzzg a m: nonms PETERS ca. morourwm wAsu'marcN o c UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. EDGAR, OF WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

TORPEDO-PLACER.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,917, dated December 13, 1892.

Application filed February 13, 1892. Serial No. 421,398. (No model.)

.To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. EDGAR, a citizen of theUnited States, residingat Wilkes- Barr, in the county of Luzerne, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Torpedo Placers, of which the following is a specification, refer ence being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in torpedo-plaoers; and it has for its object, among others, to provide -a simple, cheap,,durable, and efficient device which may be readily attached to the end of the platform of a car, easily operated, and pivotally supported, so as to be thrown up for loading. A suitable catch or look is provided to hold the device in its operative position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference thereon, form part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of my improvements. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, and Fig. 3 is a like view of a double torpedo-placer.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a suitable plate or support designed to be secured at the rear end of the platform in the desired position in anysuitable manneras, for instance, by bolts passing through the holes a. This plate or support has at its upper end the parallel arms A, extending at right angles therefrom,and between which, on a suitable horizontal pivot B, provided with a suitable nutb for adjustment, ispivoted the barrel 0, so mounted that when not locked against such movement it may be thrown upward for the purpose of loading the torpedo-holder which is carried thereby and which will soonbe described.

The barrel 0, as above stated, is pivotally supported at its upper end and at its lower end is screw-threaded exteriorly, as shown at c, to receive the interiorly-threaded collar D,

all the views.

as seen best in Fig. 1. Within this barrel is arranged to slide the shank E, around which v is a spring F, which finds one point of resistance against the cap D and the other against a projecting portion G, which is preferably in the form of a foot-lever, which is detachably connected with the upper end of the shank, as by screw-thread,as shown in Fig. 1, and which projects through a longitudinal slot f in the barrel, as seen in all of the views.

The shank E projects downward through the cap D and is formed or provided with the horizontal arm H and at its lower end has pivotally connected therewith on a horizontal pivot h the torpedo-holder I, which may be of any approved or well-known construction, preferably of the form shown in the patent to Silas D. Edgar, No. 467,926, dated February 2, 1892, I designating the horizontal trailer and I the presser. Projecting from the horizontal arm H near its outer end is a pin .I, and on the torpedo-holder is a pin K, the two pins being connected by aspring L, as shown in The lower end of the shank E is provided with a cross-bar e, which serves asa stop to limit the movement of the torpedo-holder in one direction, as will be readily understood from Fig. 1.

In operation the device is attached to the rear end of the car, with the foot-lever G slightly above the platform, the spring E tending to keep it normally at its uppermostlimit, as shown in the various views. The barrel, with its attached parts, may be turned upon its pivot 19, as indicated by the dotted lines 1 and 2 in Fig. 1, and the torpedo-holder may be thrown into the elevated position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 for the purpose of loading, being held in such position by the spring L, as will be understood from Fig. 1. When loaded and ready for use, the torpedo assumes the vertical position in which it is shown by dotted lines in the various views, the spring L serving to hold it in such position.

tached parts in its vertical position, I provide a suitable lock or catch M, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, which is pivoted at one end, as at m, to a lateral arm A at the lower end of the support A and engaging over another arm A on said support and parallel with the arm A When this latch is thrown up, the barrel will In order to hold the barrel and its at- IOO be free to be turned on its pivot. When the .latch is down, the barrel is held against such pivotal movement. When the torpedo is to be placed upon the track, the holderis forced down against the tension of the spring E by pressure on the lever Gr. As soon as the torpedo has been placed, pressure on said lever is removed and the spring E returns the parts to their normal position. i

In Fig. 3 is shown a double holder embodying the same construction, substantially, there being two of the barrels pivoted on the pivot b and carried by a single barrel 0, which is.

designed to be slid along on the pivot, so that after the torpedo in one of the holders has been placed the device may be moved along, as indicated by dotted lines, to bring the other holder over the track. The support A in this instance is double and is provided with two sets of parallel arms A A and the locking device in this instance consists of the lockingbar N, slidably mounted in the arms A one of which is provided with a keyhole-slot A to receive a correspondingly-shaped end it on the end of the rod. By giving the rod a quarter-t urn it will be disengaged from the slot, so that the rod may be moved endwise to permit of movement of the barrels. Given a quarterturn in the opposite direction it looks the parts.

Modifications in detail may be resorted to without departing from the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages. For'instance, I may provide the support or plate A with lugs A upon the rear face, which are adj ustably held to the said plate and adapted to clamp the upper and lower faces of the platform or timbers of the car, which avoids boring holes in the end of the platform or other part of the car. These lugs are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Screws A may be employed for holding them to the platform of a car.

To provide for the necessary movement of the parts when going round a curve, I provide sufficient play at the bottom or lower end of the plate A, either by widening it, as

shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, or by providing play, as indicated in Fig. 2.

What I claim as new is- 1. Thecombination,in a pivotally-mounted torpedo-placer, of a spring-actuated vertically-movable shank provided with a foot-lever and a torpedo-holder pivotally mounted on the lower end of said shank, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, in a pivotally-mounted torpedo-placer,of a vertically-movable springactuated shank with projecting portions, means for holdingsaid shank against pivotal movement, and a torpedo-holder pivotally mounted on the lower end of said shank, substantially as specified.

3. The combination,in a pivotally-mounted torpedo-placer the shank of which has an extension, of a torpedo-holder pivotally mounted on said placer, a spring connecting said holder and extension, and a stop on the placer for limiting the movement of the holder on its pivot, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, with a suitable support, of a torpedo-placer pivoted thereon and free to slide on its pivot in the direction of the length of said pivot horizontally, as set forth.

5. A torpedo-placer pivotally mounted and having bodily movement on its pivot in the direction of the length of said pivot horizontally, combined with means for holding the same against such pivotal and horizontal movement, as set forth.

6. The combination, with a pivotallymounted torpedo-placer having a shank with a lateral arm, of a torpedo-holder pivotally mounted on the said shank and connected with the said lateral arm by a spring, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES F. EDGAR.

Witnesses:

J AS. A. YOUNG, ROBERT J. BLAIR. 

